Picture Power: Portraits Of Five Leading Press Photographers

Genre

Station

Radio 4

Episodes

Episode

Title

FirstBroadcast

Comments

1

Royal Wedding

20111031

Miles Warde presents the first of five programmes featuring famous press photographers. Largely recorded in real time, they offer drama and insight into professionals at work. In the first programme James Hill of the New York Times gives up the chance to go to Libya in order to shoot the famous balcony kiss at this year's royal wedding between Catherine Middleton and Prince William.

"I don't know if this was a reward, or a punishment. Perhaps it was both," says the Moscow based photographer, winner of both the Pulitzer and the world press. His paper paid £900 to put him on the stand at the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, but he is further from the balcony than he had guessed, and he has the wrong lens. James Hill shares his thoughts on this 'blink and you miss it' event - the anguish and stress - via a microphone we gave him before the day began.

Also in this series - Lewis Whyld of the Press Association at the first night of the Tottenham riots; Mike Goldwater back in Rwanda 17 years after the genocide; Geoff Waugh on the final alpine stage of this year's Tour de France; and Jane Mingay of the Telegraph, who took the most famous picture at the London bombings, in New York looking for images of the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

The producer is Miles Warde.

. How one press photographer took the royal wedding balcony kiss shot.

2

Tottenham Riots

20111101

Miles Warde presents the second of five programmes featuring photographers capturing the most dramatic events of the past year. When Lewis Whyld of the Press Association arrived on Tottenham High Street on August 6th, the first and fiercest night of this summer's riots, he soon saw three other photographers being attacked. For the next hour therefore he shot on his mobile phone, and only pulled out his cameras once it was dark. Shooting by the light of the police helicopter searchlight, Lewis captured images that went right round the world. In this compelling account of an extremely difficult assignment, he draws parallels between what was happening in north London, and what he had witnessed earlier this year in the riots Tahrir Square in Cairo. This programme is filled with extraordinary detail, and reveals how little are the rewards for photographers who risk everything in order to witness events.

. How Lewis Whyld captured the Tottenham riots - the fires, the police and the mob.

3

The Tour de France

20111102

Reporter Miles Warde follows photographer Geoff Waugh during this year's Tour De France. It's the last stage in the Alps, on the twenty one bends of Alpe d'Huez, and Geoff Waugh has to find the best place to stand. Cycling photography is notoriously difficult - unlike most sports, the action is not contained to a stadium but spread out along a course over a hundred kilometres long. Geoff describes in gripping detail what it is like to hang off the back of a motorbike, large lenses flapping around, while following the race. We hear from the sun-crazed fans lining the course, and also capture Geoff at work as the main contenders, including Alberto Contador, come past. "It's arms, legs, flags, motorbikes, noise, burning clutches - 250th of a second snippets.".

. Geoff Waugh on taking photographs during the Tour de France.

4

9/11 anniversary

20111103

The tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York's twin towers was a solemn and emotional event. Miles Warde follows photographer Jane Mingay of the Daily Telegraph as she searches for the image which captures the day. The reading of the long list of names of those who perished moves the photographer almost to tears. In 2005, Jane Mingay took perhaps the most iconic shot of the London terrorist bombings, of a woman being helped away from a tube station, her face wrapped in a burn mask.

. Jane Mingay of the Telegraph covers the 9/11 anniversary in New York.

5 LAST

Return to Rwanda

20111104

Miles Warde talks to photographer Mike Goldwater, recently back from Rwanda where he made moving recordings of the people he photographed. These include a woman whose husband is now in jail for genocide crimes. Mike was in Rwanda during the genocide, and won a world press award for his picture of a young Hutu girl caught up in the ethnic fighting in Burundi the previous year. We hear from both the photographer and his subjects about how the war affected their lives.

The producer is Miles Warde.

. Mike Goldwater in Rwanda, 17 years after the genocide.

Episodes

Episode

Title

FirstBroadcast

Comments

1

Royal Wedding

20111031

Miles Warde presents the first of five programmes featuring famous press photographers. Largely recorded in real time, they offer drama and insight into professionals at work. In the first programme James Hill of the New York Times gives up the chance to go to Libya in order to shoot the famous balcony kiss at this year's royal wedding between Catherine Middleton and Prince William.

"I don't know if this was a reward, or a punishment. Perhaps it was both," says the Moscow based photographer, winner of both the Pulitzer and the world press. His paper paid £900 to put him on the stand at the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, but he is further from the balcony than he had guessed, and he has the wrong lens. James Hill shares his thoughts on this 'blink and you miss it' event - the anguish and stress - via a microphone we gave him before the day began.

Also in this series - Lewis Whyld of the Press Association at the first night of the Tottenham riots; Mike Goldwater back in Rwanda 17 years after the genocide; Geoff Waugh on the final alpine stage of this year's Tour de France; and Jane Mingay of the Telegraph, who took the most famous picture at the London bombings, in New York looking for images of the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

The producer is Miles Warde.

. How one press photographer took the royal wedding balcony kiss shot.

2

Tottenham Riots

20111101

Miles Warde presents the second of five programmes featuring photographers capturing the most dramatic events of the past year. When Lewis Whyld of the Press Association arrived on Tottenham High Street on August 6th, the first and fiercest night of this summer's riots, he soon saw three other photographers being attacked. For the next hour therefore he shot on his mobile phone, and only pulled out his cameras once it was dark. Shooting by the light of the police helicopter searchlight, Lewis captured images that went right round the world. In this compelling account of an extremely difficult assignment, he draws parallels between what was happening in north London, and what he had witnessed earlier this year in the riots Tahrir Square in Cairo. This programme is filled with extraordinary detail, and reveals how little are the rewards for photographers who risk everything in order to witness events.

. How Lewis Whyld captured the Tottenham riots - the fires, the police and the mob.

3

The Tour de France

20111102

Reporter Miles Warde follows photographer Geoff Waugh during this year's Tour De France. It's the last stage in the Alps, on the twenty one bends of Alpe d'Huez, and Geoff Waugh has to find the best place to stand. Cycling photography is notoriously difficult - unlike most sports, the action is not contained to a stadium but spread out along a course over a hundred kilometres long. Geoff describes in gripping detail what it is like to hang off the back of a motorbike, large lenses flapping around, while following the race. We hear from the sun-crazed fans lining the course, and also capture Geoff at work as the main contenders, including Alberto Contador, come past. "It's arms, legs, flags, motorbikes, noise, burning clutches - 250th of a second snippets.".

. Geoff Waugh on taking photographs during the Tour de France.

4

9/11 anniversary

20111103

The tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York's twin towers was a solemn and emotional event. Miles Warde follows photographer Jane Mingay of the Daily Telegraph as she searches for the image which captures the day. The reading of the long list of names of those who perished moves the photographer almost to tears. In 2005, Jane Mingay took perhaps the most iconic shot of the London terrorist bombings, of a woman being helped away from a tube station, her face wrapped in a burn mask.

. Jane Mingay of the Telegraph covers the 9/11 anniversary in New York.

5 LAST

Return to Rwanda

20111104

Miles Warde talks to photographer Mike Goldwater, recently back from Rwanda where he made moving recordings of the people he photographed. These include a woman whose husband is now in jail for genocide crimes. Mike was in Rwanda during the genocide, and won a world press award for his picture of a young Hutu girl caught up in the ethnic fighting in Burundi the previous year. We hear from both the photographer and his subjects about how the war affected their lives.